Hot off the heels of yet another successful Amazon Prime Day (how big a dent did you make in your wallet?) Amazon has introduced two new additions to its growing Echo Show smart display line: the Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 5 Kids.
The Echo Show 5, which will sell for $119, includes all the usual features you’d expect from a smart display, including access to the Alexa voice assistant as well as a screen for watching news clips, checking a Ring doorbell camera, viewing shopping lists, making video calls, and more. The unit is 20% faster than the previous generation with a new speaker system that doubles the bass and delivers clearer sound for music, video, podcasts, and more.
It comes with a re-engineered mic array and AZ2 Neural Edge processor as well and supports Matter so it’s easier to connect and control compatible smart home products across various brands. This model is finished in Charcoal, Glacier White, or Cloud Blue.
Selling for $10 more at $129, the Echo Show 5 Kids is similar in design but with a funkier colour scheme that kids will love that Amazon aptly calls Galaxy. It also offers kid-friendly responses and jokes when asking queries via Alexa, as well as explicit lyric filtering. The screen can be personalized using colourful, kid-friendly clock themes.
Kids can use the smart display to ask Alexa for homework help; make video calls to parent-approved contacts; play with interactive skills; ask Alexa to read a bedtime story; and set alarms to wake up in the morning. Parents and guardians have transparency and control over their kids’ experiences, with access to a free suite of parental controls through the Parent Dashboard, where they can adjust age settings, review activity, and set bedtime limits.
Echo Show 5 Kids comes with a two-year worry-free guarantee and includes one year of Amazon Kids+, a kid-focused subscription with thousands of hours of ad-free and age-appropriate audiobooks, videos, games, and Alexa skills.
Both Echo devices have a mic on/off button and the ability to view and delete voice recordings if and when desired.